The SMART Consortium Meeting and Regional Dissemination Event in Vlore, Albania! 

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The Smart project Consortium held on 19th to 21th March hosted by the Faculty of Economy at the University of Vlora.

The meeting started with insightful presentations and discussions on the implemented and future activities counseling/trainings and workshops within 7 SMART innovation centers in Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It was an engaging start to our meeting, setting the stage for continued collaboration and innovation! Furthermore, during second day the next steps and activities related to the work packages 1, 6, 7 and 8 was presented. 

Furthermore, during second day, Regional Dissemination Event – Panel: SMART Networking and Collaboration in the Western Balkans and Beyond was held. 

Moderated by Mateja Geder, SMART EU Project Coordinator, DOBA Business School, Slovenia
Panelists:
• Contin AntonellaPolitecnico di Milano, Italy 🇮🇹
• Thomas Köhler, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany 🇩🇪
• Stefano Sanna, FPM, Italy 🇮🇹
• Dragan Gligoric, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina 🇧🇦
• Bojana MalisicUniversity of Donja Gorica, Montenegro 🇲🇪
• Ylvije KrajaUniversiteti i Shkodrës ‘Luigj Gurakuqi’, Albania 🇦🇱

During the Regional Dissemination Event, the panel discussion focused on key topics within the SMART project, where participants shared their insights on:

The Role of the SMART Project in fostering innovation, especially through the 7 SMART Innovation Centers developed in Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Albania.

The Importance of universities in strengthening the regional innovation ecosystem.

The Role of the Quintuple Helix Model in regional development.
Expanding collaboration beyond the Western Balkans.
Challenges and the future outlook.

Most importantly, all interested stakeholders were invited to collaborate with one of the 7 SMART Innovation Centers!